A truly practical guide, which aims to cut through the hype and show where these new ‘wonder materials’ will really fit into your industry and products.

The editor has drawn together contributions from academics, materials suppliers, product manufacturers, NASA and the US army, which show how these materials really perform, and where they are already finding uses. Flame retardancy and barrier properties are key benefits.

Performance however is only part of the story. To achieve commercial success new materials must also deliver these properties safely and predictably. Processing is a key issue when investment in new equipment may not be an option. There are questions regarding the health impacts of all nanoscale particles. All these topics and more are covered in the following sections:

4. Processing of polymer nanocomposites by Daniel Schmidt, Dept of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts, USA

4.1 What is processing and why is it necessary? 4.2 What is needed to process a polymer nanocomposite? 4.2.1 Enhancing polymer mobility 4.2.2 Th e consequences of processing 4.2.3 A balanced approach 4.3 Does the polymer have to be a solid at room temperature? 4.4 Do we need to start with a polymer at all? 4.5 Can we do away with the pre-formed nanofi ller as well? 4.6 What are our options as far as pre-formed nanofi llers? 4.7 What makes a nanofi ller disperse in a particular polymer during processing? 4.7.1 The thermodynamics of dispersion: entropy 4.7.2 The thermodynamics of dispersion: enthalpy 4.7.3 Complications: crystallinity 4.7.4 Complications: multi-phase systems 4.7.5 Achieving thermodynamic compatibility – practical considerations 4.7.6 Th e kinetics of physical dispersion 4.7.7 Dispersion kinetics in the presence of chemical reactions 4.8 What should a “well-processed” polymer nanocomposite look like 4.8.1 Th e realities of nanocomposite processing 4.9 What are our options for nanocomposite processing? 4.9.1 Th e importance of pre-processing 4.10 What processing techniques involve just polymer and nanofi ller? 4.10.1 Physical mixing/dry blending 4.10.2 Compaction 4.10.3 Solid state shear processing 4.10.4 Melt blending 4.11 What additional options do we have with solutions 4.11.1 Physical mixing/“wet blending” 4.12 What about reactive processing? 4.13 Are there any additional considerations?